Bethany Bailey-Brown Media: June 2018

Friday, 29 June 2018

Summer 2018 Mock DIRT (The Lego Movie)

Question 7: Explain two reasons why a film company would release a video game linked to a film.

Releasing a video game keeps the brand, the film in the public eye for longer so increases the publicity for the film. This would help sell DVDs or streaming releases of the film. Also, this diversifies the company, if it is making money from more than one media form it spreads the risk that always is in releasing a film that you might lose money. The game could also attract a different target audience, who wouldn't usually watch the movie, but might play the game, so watch the movie afterwards. Information about the characters and setting, and some of the story is shown in the game, attracting the people who would just play the game to the film itself. Another reason would be that the game lets the audience become more involved in the story of the film, so this would attract a wide range of the target audiences, or appear to a different market. The game promotes the film, and the film promotes the game.

Question 8: Explain at least two uses and gratifications of video games using Blumler and Katz's theory. Refer to The Lego Movie Video Game to support your answer.

The Lego Movie Game is used as a distraction from real world problems, so the target audience can just play the game and not worry about anything. Also, by playing the game, the audience think about who they are, and what ideas and values they identify with. This is done, because they have to do what they feel is right in the game, so they would question themselves, as to what is the right thing to do. The games also gives the audience something to discuss with other people, helping then build relationships, whether that be online, or in person, to their friends, making them all feel involved, and part of a crowd of people, who can talk to each other about a game that interests them. By playing the game, the target audience gets a chance to find out new information, by playing the game, and talking to others about the game. They also take pleasure in knowing all this information about the game that they love.
Video games of movies also attract the target audience of the movie to buy and play the video game, because they like the movie so much that they would want to buy anything that is associated with the movie, especially the video game, because they could then feel more involved, and in control of their favourite characters, and can determine the fate of the villains, making themselves feel like the hero.
Also, some people may play the game, to feel like they fit in, so they are able to make friends and talk to other people about it, making them feel like they fit in, because everyone else is playing it, so they want it too, to fit in.

Question 9: Analyse how genre codes have been used in The Lego Movie poster campaign to appeal to a family audience. In your answer you must also refer to relevant media contexts.

The Lego Movie's main poster is bright, and uses a bright colour pallet of blue, red, black, white and yellow. This would attract the family audience, with young children, as they would be attracted to the bright colours, making it seem more interesting to them, so they will then want to see the movie. The movie also uses intertextuality, because the families with young children have children who would play with Lego, so when they see that a movie with all their favourite characters they would want to watch it, so because their parents know how much they like Lego, they would take them to watch the movie.
The other character posters show a close up of the main characters, and the name of the actor who plays them. There are some quite famous actors, who the whole family would know, so the parents would want to see some of their favourite actors. The children would also want to see some famous people in a movie all about their favourite toys. This would be one of the main things to attract the whole family to the movie.

Tuesday, 26 June 2018

Summer 2018 Mock DIRT (Music)

Question 2: Explain one way in which music videos use language to differ from each other. Refer to one example of contrasting media language in two music videos you have studied to support your answer.

Music videos use different media language to differ from one another, like in Avril Levignes 'Sk8er Boi', the video shows young people dancing and smashing things up. This is shown in many ways, using low angle shots showing the lead singer as bigger and more important than the others. This represents the audience, because many rebellious teens could relate to this, as they look up to people like this, and that they believe it doesn't matter how someone dresses, or what they do, they are still important. This will make the target audience feel better. Also, all the people in the video are dressed in skater clothes, stood on cars in the middle of streets, smashing the cars up with guitars. This would appeal to the target audience, as they would feel that they can relate, sometimes wanting to smash things up. But in Wheatus' 'Teenage Dirtbag', it shows an unpopular teenager lusting after a girl who is out of his league. The video shows him constantly seeing her, and wishing she would like him too. The video is quite innocent, just showing a boy lusting after a girl. It doesn't show any violence from the main character, so is quite different to Avril Levignes video. This would also be a good thing for the audience to see, as violence isn't always the answer, and they could feel that they can relate to the main character in the video, wishing that the person they like would like him back. Also, Diegetic and non-Diegetic sound is used in both videos to represent the target audience, with the videos telling the same sort of story, but just in different ways, with 'sk8er boi' showing men as sexual objects, and showing that teenagers are fun and happy. But 'Teenage Dirtbag' it is quite dark, showing some violence, and lonliness. This shows that the videos differ, but both represent different types of the target audiences. Both music videos also have very different ideas of gender, showing the boy in 'Teenage Dirtbag' lusting after a girl, talking about how she looks good in her gym socks, but in Sk8er Boi' it is a girl singing about how good a boy is, even thought the girl who danced and thought she was better than him was wrong to judge him, and now she is with him and that they are both famous, 'rockin up MTV'.

Question 4: Refer to Extract 1 in the Insert. Analyse the representation of musicians in Extract 1, which is from MOJO Magazine.

The musicians in extract one are represented as rock gods, and outcasts in the normal world, with words like "survived' and "torment", showing the musicians as struggling people, who have to cope with a lot of torment. This would attract people, because some of the target audience may feel that they can relate to this. The magazine uses a colour palette of monochrome colours, with a dark font of red and yellow. This could show the musicians as dark people, who have quite dark and depressing music. This represents them, as many of the target audience may have been depressed, so feel that they can relate to this kind of music and musicians.

The magazine has quite a masculine feel to it, partly through its use of colour. The masculine feel is further developed through the choice of artists and bands identified on the front cover, which include artists and bands that are male dominated, apart from Blondie. This could suggest that the world of rock is male dominated and enjoyed by male readers, which id further reinforced by the monochrome colour scheme and block capitals for all coverlines.

Question 5: Refer to Extracts 1 and 2 in the Insert.
How far is media language used differently in Extracts 1 and 2 to reflect genre conventions?
In your answer you must:
-Analyse examples of how media language is used similarly and differently in Extracts 1 and 2, which are from We Love Pop and MOJO magazines.
- Make judgements and reach conclusions about whether there are more similarities due genre conventions than differences in the extracts.

Extract 1 is a dark, rock magazine, mainly aimed at C-E males, usually aged between 20-35, but Extract 2 is a bright and colourful pop magazine, which would mainly be aimed at females, aged between 9-14. Extract 1 uses a dark, monochrome colour pallet, with red and yellow fonts, but extract 2 uses bright, stereotypically 'girly' colours, like pinks, with some yellow and blue. This shows the difference in genre, because you wouldn't use pink and yellow on a rock magazine, because hat is not what the target audience is attracted to, as they would prefer darker colours, like black and red, because they feel that these colour represent them, and many of them may feel depressed, or feel like they can associate with the musicians who feel that way. Just like you wouldn't use dark backs and greys in a pop magazine, because they young girls who would read it aren't attracted to these colours, as they would prefer brighter colours, because they feel that they relate more tot they artists they like, because they are happier, and have a target audience of younger girls.
Also, the magazines use different words, because each one has a different target audience, who are both different ages. Extract 1 uses dark, depressing words, like 'torment' and 'surviving'. This is because the target audience can relate to words like this, as many of them could be depressed and feel that they can relate to their favourite artists in this genre. But Extract 2 uses words like 'love' and 'style'. This is because the target audience for this magazine are young girls, who don't really know much about life, or love yet, as they are still young and believe that it is great, and colourful, so they want to read magazines about it, to help themselves try to understand these things. This shows the difference, as one of the magazines is talking completely about music and musicians, but the pop magazine shows some artists, but also shows things about style and dating, just to attract the target audience, and make them read it.